South Australian OSHC worker, 21, abused boy, 12, in her care, told him about sex dreams, sent nude photos

A former out of school hours care worker who groomed, abused and silenced a 12-year-old boy in her care has told a court she did it because she grew up with body image issues.

A former out of school hours care worker who groomed, abused and silenced a 12-year-old boy in her care has told a court she did it because she grew up with body image issues.

The former child care worker and mother of three, who cannot be identified, hung her head as she sat in the dock of the South Australian District Court on Thursday morning while a prosecutor recounted the extent of her historical abuse.

The woman, now in her 30s, earlier this year pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child, with the offending dating back to 2009.

Judge Ian White heard the woman began messaging the boy that year when he attended before and after school care, and she was employed by an OSHC centre.

In his victim impact statement, which was read to the court by the prosecutor, the now adult victim said he had lived with the secret of her offending his whole life and could not be silenced anymore.

“(The woman) lured me into a relationship that was secretive and sexual in nature when I was emotionally vulnerable. She groomed me in a way that made me feel like we had a special connection,” he said.

“I was influenced into thinking that an emotional and sexual connection between a 12 year old child and an adult woman was okay. This caused my sexual development to accelerate rapidly and led me to have unhealthy expectations about friends and relationships, blurring the lines between platonic connections and sexual connections.

The woman appeared in court on Thursday after confessing to the abuse. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

“During the abuse (she) insisted that I not tell anyone about our interactions and that I delete any messages to hide evidence.”

He said he was hesitant to report her to police because he would be “getting her in trouble and breaking her trust”, but if he had not done so, he would not “be able to live with myself” if she had abused other children.

“It wasn’t until I reached my mid twenties, the approximate age that I assumed (she) would have been during the time of the sexual abuse, that I realised how disturbing and damaging the situation was. It makes me sick to think that a woman in her mid to late 20s, would look at a child and want to engage in a sexual relationship with them.”

The court heard that over the course of her offending, the woman, who was 21-23 years old at the time of the offending, had sent sexually explicit messages to the boy over Facebook messenger.

“They included references to allowing the victim to ‘go for a grope’. She described that he would look hot in his basketball uniform, described a sexual dream that she had about him, explained to him how certain sexual positions worked, she would discuss masturbation and describe naked images which she was sending to him,” the prosecutor said.

“On more than occasion she made comments to the victim such as ‘would you do me’, ‘why can’t you be ten years older?’, ‘I wish you were ten years older so I could jump your bones’.”

The woman’s lawyer told the court that she had grown up as an overweight child, which carried into her teenage years, and had significantly affected her self-worth. That lack of self worth, he said, meant she often sought validation from boys growing up.

He said the fact she was now in custody after asking for her bail to be revoked meant she was away from her husband and three children – two of which were now nearing the age her victim was at the time of the offending.

“She describes the offending as the biggest regret of her life,” he said.

“She suggests that she has changed her life significantly since.”

Judge White will sentence the woman at the end of the month.

Originally published as South Australian OSHC worker, 21, abused boy, 12, in her care, told him about sex dreams, sent nude photos